Video Review: J. Cole’s "Crooked Smile"

I grew up in a time where the music video was one of the most important ways artists promoted their albums. The game has changed a bit and artists don’t concentrate as much as they used to on their videos. Even more sparingly, are the videos that actually pull from national news and/or social issues. I have noticed a slight change with newer artists like Kendrick Lamar attempting to bring this practice back to the art. Earlier this week, Roc Nation rapper, J. Cole released the video to his latest single “Crooked Smile,” from his “Born Sinner” album.

Video Overview (Spoilers Included)

The video does a great job of story telling. Unlike most videos we see now, the song almost takes a backseat to the story that’s being told. We have two men, J. Cole and a police officer, going about their, what seems to be, a normal day. J. Cole’s character is up early, cleaning his house, mowing the lawn and preparing for a birthday dinner for his young daughter. On the other side of town, you have the police officer, eating breakfast, interacting with his young daughter at breakfast and preparing for his tough job as a police officer, in what looks like a special task force. If you blink, you’ll miss a short scene, where J. Cole’s character pulls out a small bag of drugs from one of his shoes in a closet, suggesting that his profession is a little less legal than the officer’s. 

Then, you J. Cole’s character home is raided for drugs, and as he’s being apprehended, his daughter is accidently shot and killed by one of the police officers (not the main character). Then, you see flashback scenes of J. Cole’s character’s daughter and the police officer’s daughter drawing together in school, suggesting that they were more alike than may have originally been thought. At the end of the video there are two significant statements: “For Aiyana Stanely-Jones,” and “…And Please Reconsider Your War on Drugs.”

For those not familiar with the Aiyana Stanely-Jones story click here to be informed. A mistrial was issued in her case when she was shot and killed by a police officer during a raid of her home. They were looking for a suspect in a murder that had happened days before and the TV show “The First 48” was filming them as well. It was later found out that the police raided the wrong apartment and the person they were looking for actually lived in the unit above the one Aiyana was killed in. J. Cole and video director Sheldon Candis used this story as the main backdrop for the video. I love this because it did a few things:

1.  It drew inspiration from a true story that did not receive much media attention.

2.  It used art as a way of honoring Aiyana’s young life that was taken senselessly.

3. This is what quality music inspires TRUE artists to do. It inspires them to create work that has a purpose and is thought provoking.

JJ. Cole and Director Sheldon Candis get an A+ from me for this video. The song itself is one of the breaths of fresh air in terms of hip-hop music right now: a positive song that gives off positive energy. They could have easily gone the easy route and made a video that went directly with the song. Instead they pushed themselves creatively and created something that is both thought provoking, controversial but most importantly exceptionally done. 

2 Former Child Stars That Got it Right

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month, the entire world has been buzzing about Miley Cyrus’ performance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. There are so many psychological subjects that we can touch on here, it literally has my head spinning. Maybe I'm getting old and slowly becoming uncool, because I was appalled by the entire spectacle. But we won’t go there!

Watching the damage unfold afterwards, many media outlets mentioned the other child stars that have grown up in the public eye and have had a difficult time adjusting to adulthood. I am sensitive to the fact that when a child or teenager becomes a celebrity they now have to go through all of the normal growing pains us normal people go through but in the public eye. Introduce the lovely world of Twitter, Instagram and all other social media outlets, being a young person in this day and age is probably more difficult now more than ever.

So let’s focus on a few former child stars that have gotten this whole, “transitioning into adulthood in the public eye” thing right.

Justin Timberlake

Who can forget the bleached blonde, youngest member of N’SYNC. Go a bit further back, and Justin actually first graced our TV screens as a member of one of my favorite shows the 90s, The Mickey Mouse Club. Justin has successfully transitioned from a childhood teenybopper to a multi-talented, musically respected star of today. JT oozes charisma and confidence and has kept negative rumors about him to a minimum. What’s his secret? He knows when to take a break! Oversaturation of any entertainer can cause the public to get sick and tired of you. The fact that Mr. Timberlake is TRULY talented helps too. He seems to have a respect for music and acting that some other artists take for granted. This shows in the quality of his work and no doubt is a key component of his success.

Janet Jackson

The youngest sibling to come from the iconic Jackson family. She’s had her share of trials and tribulations but Janet Jackson has had longevity in her career that definitely puts him in the icon category. She first graced our screens as a performer on the Jackson Family variety show in the 70s. Then as a teenager in the early 80s, she began her acting career appearing in legendary shows “Good Times” and “Different Strokes.” She then took her chances in the family business of music and the rest is history. Ms. Jackson’s secret: Knowing when to swift it up! Sometimes it’s as simple as changing your hair, clothes and even adding variety to your music. Janet’s ability to change her look with each album and project has helped her stay fresh each time she comes out.

Obviously these two have had their share of controversy, specifically during their performance in the Superbowl halftime performance in2004. However, they have been able to achieve success and bounce back from it in a positive manor. They’ve allowed their talent to speak for themselves. Another similarity that can’t be overlooked is the fact that they are both multi-talented.  The more talents you can master, the longer your career in Entertainment can be. This could be another reason why their careers have were able to continue into adulthood. I think growing with their audience is important too. Ms. Jackson and Mr. Timberlake, we salute you!